Vacuum cleaner floor tool



G. L. CONGDON VACUUM CLEANER FLOOR TOOL Filed June 29, 1959 March 5, 1963 7 l M z o M J 3 M a MC vm M4 M 0 E A 0 6 Q a H! 7 m w a z e 3 6 I m a 5 Z 5 a dwv .I J ..ow..a I a i 7 5 W i 45 3 rates This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner floor tool equipped with a squeegee and sponge.

The tool is desirably equipped with a swiveled adaptor to receive the end of the tubular handle or wand, the adaptor being angled so that its terminal is approximately horizontal to permit the head of the tool to pivot thereon for inversion according to whether the sponge or the pick-up squeegee is to be used.

The head of the tool not only mounts the sponge on the top or normally uppermost surface, but is internally chambered in communication with the adaptor, and the end walls of the chamber are slotted to receive a squeegee blade so positioned with respect to the chamber side walls that the flexibility of the squeegee enables it to seat on one side wall or the other according to whether the head is manipulated forwardly or rearwardly on the floor. Thus, the squeegee not only acts to perform its usual function of wiping the door surface, but it also acts as a valve to limit the air flow to that side of the downwardly opening channel at which the Water is accumulating ahead of the squeegee blade.

The head slots are of substantial extent at each end of the blade and conform to the cross section of a conventional squeegee so that the squeegee will be anchored frictionally in these slots, no special squeegee or other means of anchorage being required.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view in rear three-quarter perspective showing a floor tool embodying the invention, a portion of the wand fragmentarily illustrated.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in cross section on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail view showing a position assumed by the squeegee when the floor tool is being operated in one direction of the floor.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail view similar to FIG. 3 showing the position taken by the squeegee in the opposite direction of movement of the tool.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a transverse section taken on line d-6 of FIG. 1.

The floor tool comprises an invertible head 7, desirably unitarily molded of plastic, and includes a closed vacuum chamber 22 formed by an unbroken top wall 7a, by a pair of spaced end walls or flanges 7b and 70 extending from the top wall 7a, and by a pair of spaced side walls or flanges 20 and 21 which extend from the top wall 7a and from the end walls 7b and 70 to define a narrow, elongated inlet slot in which a squeegee 31} is mounted. On the other side or face of the top wall 7a, the head 7 includes a relatively broad top portion 8 including a sponge receiving cavity or channel 8a formed by a wa l 9 which includes an extension 9a of the side wall 29/. Any desired means may be used for mounting the sponge. As shown, the sponge is vulcanized or cemented to a plate 11, the margins 12 of which are snapped into place and confined between the ribs 13 and 14 which extend along the bottom and sides of the top cavity formed by flange 9. For additional security, if desired in some particular case, sockets may be provided at 15 to receive screws 16 for which the sponge may be provided with openings 17, the screws holding the plate to which the sponge is fastened.

difiiii The lower portion of the head 7 is relatively narrow from front to rear as defined by downwardly projecting flanges at 20 and 21 which are the front and rear walls of a chamber 22 which communicates with the socket 23 for the adaptor 24. End slots formed by flanges 20 and 21 extend below the walls for the squeegee blade mounting, to allow for air flow from the ends of the tool into chamber 22. Cleaning action is effective over the entire width of the tool, even when operating against a side or vertical wall. The adaptor is conventional and receives the usual tubular handle or wand 25. The adaptor is swiveled within the socket 23, whereby the entire head 7 may be inverted by the operator according to whether the squeegee or the sponge is to be used. The squeegee 39 has a beaded upper margin 31, a thin intermediate waist portion 32 and a thin lower edge 33. At the sides of the squeegee above the lower edge there are longitudinal ribs at 34 and 35.

The end walls of the vacuum chamber 22 within the head are relatively heavy. In a molded article, they are conveniently made double as indicated at 36 and 37 in FIG. 5 to provide elongated surfaces at 38 having channels complementary to the head 31 and waist portion 32 at the ends of the squeegee, thereby providing elongated friction contact between the squeegee and the wall portions 38 at each end of the head.

The squeegee is resiliently flexible, usually being made of natural or synthetic rubber or synthetic resin. Its normal position is as shown in FIG. 2 but under the weight of the head or the pressure of the operator, the wiping edge 33 of the squeegee readily flexes according to the direction of thrust. If the squeegee is being pulled rearwardly across the floor, it will fiex to the position shown in FIG. 3. If the head is pushed forwardly, the squeegee edge will flex rearwardly as shown in FIG. 4.

In either case the side portions of the squeegee, ordinarily one of the ribs 34 or 35 thereof, will engage one of the downwardly projecting flanges 20 or 21 of the head to provide a seal precluding the air from being drawn into the head behind the squeegee when the squeegee is in use. This arrangement requires that as the squeegee accumulates water ahead of it in passing over a wet floor, the air drawn into the head by the vacuum pump with which the wand is connected will tend to suck up the water which the squeegee is wiping from the floor.

No source of vacuum is illustrated, it being understood that the wand will be connected by the ordinarily flexible hose with any appropriate vacuum pump such as the suction side of a blower, in accordance with conventional practice.

When the squeegee requires replacement it is readily slidable endwise from the conforming channel surfaces provided at 38 in the thickened ends of the head 7 and a substitute squeegee forced endwise into position. The conforming channeled surfaces 38 of the head are desirably just sufficiently smaller than the normal cross section of the squeegee to require some deformation of the squeegee in the head, thus assuring its frictional retentron.

In use, the operator will start with a wet sponge 10 which is wiped over the floor by swiveling the head 7 on the adaptor 24 to invert the head and thereby to present the sponge to the floor surface. When the washmg of a given area with the sponge is completed, the head is turned right side up as shown and, its interior chamber 22 being subject to vacuum, the squeegee is drawn forward and back over the wet door. The squee' gee wipes the surface, to collect water ahead of itself, while acting as a valve so that all of the air entering the bottom of the tool is required to pass that side f the squeegee at which the water is being collected. Thus the dirty water is withdrawn from the cleaned surface of the floor. As soon as the water has been picked up by the combined action of the squeegee and the vacuum, another area of the floor is washed and the squeegee and vacuuming-operation is repeated.

I claim:

1. A fioor'tool for connection to a vacuum cleaner swivel'adapter, said floor tool comprising a head having asocket for said adapter and having an interior chamber which isclosed exceptior communication with said socket and means defining'an inlet in its bottom, said floor tool having a channel with a generally horizontal web portion overlying the socket and connected therewith and provided with spaced, forwardly and rearwardly disposed ribs and with upstanding forwardly and rearwardly disposed fianges associated with said ribs, a sponge substantially co-extensive with the channel, and a base plate connected withthe sponge and having marginal portions ofiset downwardly andilaterally between said ribs and the respective flanges, the ofiset portions of the base plate being in interlocked connection with the channel.

2. A un-itaryhead for a floor tool, said unitary head comprising an-unbroken top-wall, a pair of spaced end walls extending from one face of said top wall, a pair of spaced sidewalls extending from said one face of said top wall and from said end walls to thereby define a narrow, elongated inlet slot located in spaced relation to saidone face of said top wall, means in one of said side walls defining a discharge port, whereby there is defined a vacuum chamber closed except for said inlet slot and said discharge port, a swivel adapter socket extending outwardly from said one of said side walls and communicating with said discharge port, and a sponge receiving channel located on the other face of said top wall, said channel extending from the other one of said side walls to the outer end of said adapter socket, being supportedly connected to the outer end. of said adapter socket, and being defined, in part, by an extension of said other one of said side walls projecting beyond said other top Wall face.

3. The device of claim-2 in combination with a sponge having .a mounting plate, means on said channel for inter lockingly retaining engagement with said plate, said sponge projecting outwardly from the other face of said top wall beyond said extension.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,057,253 Matchette Mar. 25, 1913 1,971,493 Leathers Aug. 28, 193.4 2,039,716 Horton May 5, '1936' 2,525,605 Kautenberg Oct; 10, 1950 2,747,209 Johnson May 29, 1956 2,793,384 Ortega May 28, 1957 2,851,710 Leach Sept. 16, 1958' 2,867,835 Brown et' al. Jan. 13, 1959. 2,893,046 Thompson July 7, 1959' 

1. A FLOOR TOOL FOR CONNECTION TO A VACUUM CLEANER SWIVEL ADAPTER, SAID FLOOR TOOL COMPRISING A HEAD HAVING A SOCKET FOR SAID ADAPTER AND HAVING AN INTERIOR CHAMBER WHICH IS CLOSED EXCEPT FOR COMMUNICATION WITH SAID SOCKET AND MEANS DEFINING AN INLET IN ITS BOTTOM, SAID FLOOR TOOL HAVING A CHANNEL WITH A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL WEB PORTION OVERLYING THE SOCKET AND CONNECTED THEREWITH AND PROVIDED WITH SPACED, FORWARDLY AND REARWARDLY DISPOSED 